NBA sees highest opening-month viewership in more than decade, record social media engagement
Advertisement
Read this article for free:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
To continue reading, please subscribe:
Monthly Digital Subscription
$0 for the first 4 weeks*
- Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
- Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
- Access News Break, our award-winning app
- Play interactive puzzles
*No charge for 4 weeks then price increases to the regular rate of $19.00 plus GST every four weeks. Offer available to new and qualified returning subscribers only. Cancel any time.
Monthly Digital Subscription
$4.75/week*
- Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
- Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
- Access News Break, our award-winning app
- Play interactive puzzles
*Billed as $19 plus GST every four weeks. Cancel any time.
To continue reading, please subscribe:
Add Free Press access to your Brandon Sun subscription for only an additional
$1 for the first 4 weeks*
*Your next subscription payment will increase by $1.00 and you will be charged $16.99 plus GST for four weeks. After four weeks, your payment will increase to $23.99 plus GST every four weeks.
Read unlimited articles for free today:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
National NBA games being shown on NBC/Peacock, Amazon Prime Video or ESPN have drawn more than 60 million viewers through the first month of the regular season, the league announced Thursday, noting that is the highest opening total in 15 years.
That doesn’t include the 2011-12 season, which opened on Christmas Day — traditionally one of the biggest viewership days on the NBA calendar. Still, it’s a very positive sign for the league through the season’s first four weeks and with this being the first of an 11-year, $76 billion deal with its broadcast partners.
NBA content has commanded more than 30 billion views across social media platforms operated by the league and third parties, which is a record for this point in a season. Sales of merchandise on NBAStore.com is up more than 20%, the league added, with those numbers driven in part by who the league calls “next generation stars” — like Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Anthony Edwards, Victor Wembanyama, Tyrese Maxey, Cooper Flagg, Jalen Brunson and Luka Doncic.
NBA League Pass has seen subscriptions go up 10%, with time spent viewing games on the platform up 8%, the league said.
And it’s not just screens seeing good numbers.
In-arena attendance so far is on pace with last season, which was the second-best for attendance in league history with about 97% capacity leaguewide to this point. There are 10 teams that entered Thursday having sold out every home game so far this season — the Boston Celtics, Cleveland Cavaliers, Golden State Warriors, Houston Rockets, Miami Heat, New York Knicks, Oklahoma City Thunder, Phoenix Suns, San Antonio Spurs and Utah Jazz. Other teams, like Atlanta and Charlotte, are up nearly 10% over last year’s attendance numbers.
___
AP NBA: https://www.apnews.com/hub/NBA